Markers on the Game Board
by Iced Blood
Summary: Complete. Dark Tower poem cycling the different members of the gunslinger's ka-tet.
1. The Prisoner

Out of the city came he who was  
A prisoner to Heroin because  
His brother had done it, and so then had he  
For we all will become that which we see

Angered and flustered and sick he came  
To a world where nothing was the same  
Pulled in by a man he never knew  
With absolutely no clue what he should do

He plodded along at his captor's side  
Avoiding the monsters from the shifting tide  
Mind whirling and swirling like the ocean's waves  
While his sickening companion rants and raves

For he was sick too, the prisoner knew  
This dust-covered traveler with eyes of blue  
His right hand was ruined, the prisoner saw  
Torn near in half by a poisonous maw

And so, with not choice, the prisoner conceded  
And found for his captor that which he so needed  
The fever receded and the infection soon left  
But the prisoner still was of his home bereft

Eventually respect, however, the prisoner gave  
For his captor who had seemed halfway to the grave  
Yet still persevered by willpower alone  
Say true, a man stronger he never had known


	2. The Lady of Shadows

Next came she of the darkened skin  
The Lady with a Demon buried within  
The Demon with a tongue quick as a whip  
So cruel and foul with malicious wit

Bound on wheels she was pulled across  
The threshold as she turned and tossed  
Cursing her captors in a satirical tongue  
Such hatred and ire in the song 'twas sung

But there was another, gentler side  
To which the Prisoner's heart was tied  
He came to her as a moth to a flame  
With love in his voice as he sang her name

But the dark half hated one and all  
And refused to answer the Prisoner's call  
Instead she made life a living hell  
For Prisoner and Captor in whose world she fell

But the Captor made her see the truth  
And both sides of her, kind and uncouth  
Became as one in harmony  
A single person again was she

She loved and learned from her captors then  
And always would her help she lend  
Now they three were finally drawn  
And friendship blossomed as they walked along


	3. The Boy

In the Forest of the Bear they found  
The path to which they three were bound  
And along that path 'twas found a key  
Which none but the Prisoner could see

This key was carved from wood with knife  
And it to it went much sweat and strife  
The Prisoner fretted over it for weeks  
As tears and sweat fell down his cheeks

For the Captor that was mentor was sick again  
This time with an illness from deep within  
Oft he spoke of a child that he'd met  
A ghost of the past he could not forget

With key in hand, the Prisoner drew the door  
From which came the child from before  
The Boy with blond hair and shining eyes  
Saved by the Prisoner from a sure demise

With him the Boy brought a book, say true  
As a matter of fact, the Boy brought two  
A book of riddles and a book of a train  
In one world called Charlie but here called Blain

The Boy called this strange new world his home  
Because now he no longer felt alone  
He now had these three he called his friends  
And on their love and care he could always depend


	4. The Bumbler

But of course we'd not leave out a pet  
How could we possibly forget?  
The starving Bumbler that befriended the boy  
That small billy-bumbler they called Oy

He came unto them an abandoned thing  
And they were unsure what he would bring  
Would he be too much trouble to have around?  
It did not matter, for to them he was bound

He was part of their ka, that which we call fate  
This small wild animal to which the boy could relate  
Important was he, despite his small size  
Oy the Bumbler of the gold-ringed eyes

He would defend them, aye, for he was a guard  
His thick fur was soft but his muscles were hard  
Not to be underestimated, for he was strong  
Those who thought him no trouble were soon proven wrong

He stayed with the boy, ever at his left heel  
This raccoon-like creature with a will made of steel  
The boy was his master, his brother, his friend  
And so he would follow him up 'til the end

As much as the others, he indeed was a threat  
To any who'd e'er think to cross their ka-tet  
This Bumbler was special, there is no doubt at all  
Else why would the Tower send to him the call?


	5. The Artist

This boy came last, when but the Captor was left  
Alone in his quest, of his ka-tet bereft  
'Twas this boy, with pencil and paper prepared  
With whom, to fight 'gainst the enemy, the Captor dared

The speechless Artist came unto him  
Brought unto him as if on naught but a whim  
This Artist whose tongue had been stolen away  
By the demon Dandelo whose horse had been gray

'Twas with this artist that the Captor would see  
The Tower, the nexus of all e'er to be  
The Tower the Captor had sought for so long  
In the red field of roses from which rose up the song

'Twas the Artist who took all but eyes from the King  
Stole with an eraser all but eyes from his being  
In the quest for the Tower, 'twas his part to fulfill  
Clear the path for the Captor, aye, such was ka's will

And after his part was at last fully done  
Now it was his time to turn and to run  
For the Captor was destined to enter alone  
And the Artist was destined to find his way home

And so he said his silent goodbye and no more  
Turned to his own path away from the door  
Left the Captor and Tower and King far behind  
And set out alone for his own ka to find


	6. The Gunslinger

Last of the line of Eld this man was  
Destined to find the Dark Tower because  
Such was his ka, he was destined to see  
The nexus of all that was ever to be

Bombardier's eyes, an unbreakable will  
Plodding along over every last hill  
Armed with his six-guns and a quest to see done  
Ne'er would he stop 'til the battle was won

Friendship he found, and friendship he lost  
But though he did grieve, he'd not question the cost  
If ka was to will it, it would come to pass  
And so ka had willed that he would be the last

He buried his sons and lost his daughter  
At the end she refused to continue the slaughter  
And walked through a doorway the Artist created  
And left him, this man she had loved and yet hated

And so on his own did he scale the Dark Tower  
The nexus of worlds and of infinite power  
Only to find his journey start yet again  
For atop the Dark Tower another quest would begin

Thee must admit great respect we must give  
For this man who was dead yet continued to live  
Perseverance was found by willpower alone  
Say true, a man stronger will never be known


	7. Ka Tet

These six were family, ka-tet if you will  
Not blood-related but family still  
And such a strong bond could never be lost  
They would each do their part no matter the cost

Ka had so bound them, as the Beams bind the Tower  
For alone, none of them would have had enough power  
To fulfill their journey, to see the quest done  
Without each other the battle ne'er would be won

The Boy called him Father, the Prisoner too  
This man who was Captor and mentor, say true  
And the Lady, the Bumbler, the Artist as well  
Of that there's no question, 'tis simple to tell

To have such a family, few are so blessed  
For though this family was not nearly the best  
By the Bear and the Turtle, this family was true  
True, aye, so true, so I tell unto you

I would tell you this, too, if an ear you would lend  
That though this ka-tet fell apart at the end  
They all six stayed true and brought out ka's will  
And at the end of the path destiny was fulfilled

These six were ka-tet, those bound by fate  
And unto each other each one could relate  
No one could e'er break a bond so strong  
Say true, there is none who could silence their song

* * *

_Sorry for how long it took me to get these three up. I'm exceedingly forgetful, it seems. Anyway, here we have it; the end. Hmmm...7 books, 7 poems. Ironic? I don't think so._

_It must be ka._

_And by the way, the title of this series of poems, "Markers on the Gameboard," came from a quote from Eddie in The Waste Lands. _


End file.
